Mountain River Girl

Chapter 2: A Brief Detour

A BRIEF DETOUR

“How are you dear?” Joanne asked when I walked through the door of her little shop. “I haven’t seen you in a few days. The weather hasn’t made you sick, has it?”

Despite the sleepless nights since I met that stranger in the woods, I managed to smile back at Joanne. After all, she didn’t have to worry about me. Of all the people living in Mountain River, she was the only one with genuine concern about my wellbeing. If anything, I considered her my surrogate grandmother. Joanne bestowed me with sweets whenever she saw me, made sure to call up on me when she hadn’t seen or heard from me in a couple of days. Mountain River wasn’t my favorite place to be, but it was the only place I had to call my home. I didn’t know the family I was born into, only the one that took me in.As far as I was concerned, Joanne was family.

“The weather sure took a turn for the worse,” I said while removing my soaking jacket. “To say it was such a beautiful day out last Tuesday.”

“Winter’s only just around the corner. I can tell by the way my bones crack each time I move. However, winter isn’t necessarily bad. All I need is a nice cup of white tea, a blanket and that show you dislike so much.” Joanne chuckled. “I think Peter is one handsome man.”

“Oh, Joanne.” I shook my head dramatically. “Whatever shall I do with you?”

“Don’t worry about me, dear. I’m seventy-two years old, I lost my husband over twenty years ago, I think I’m allowed to appreciate a well-built body on television. How about you? Has that love life come to life already?”

I shook my head. “You know it hasn’t.”

“You can put your jacket near the fireplace in the back,” Joanne eyed my dripping jacket in my arms. “As for that heart of yours, it deserves someone great, loving and caring. You’re right when you don’t give it away to some undeserving nitwit.”

I shook my head at the old lady’s advice. She was clever, but perhaps blind to what happened right in front of her. “I don’t think I’m high on anyone’s wish list in Mountain River.”

“Who said this town’s idiots were your only chance at love?” She raised her eyebrows at me. “Seda, you do know there are other boys out there, don’t you? Please do me one favor and don’t end up with one of the local nitwits. See some of the world. Expand your horizons. You weren’t meant to stick to this town. It will only suffocate you.”

“I can’t just leave like that, Joanne. You know I don’t have any family outside Mountain river. Well, no family that I know of.”

“You will find them, dear. And when you do, you’ll find so much more than just long-lost relatives.”

Her confidence in me finding my family hadn’t faded over the years. Joanne still had strong beliefs I would one day meet my real family. I hoped she was right.

The door to the shop opened, making the little bells above it chime.

“Welcome to Joanne’s Essentials,” Joanne greeted the costumer. I recognized the girl from school. Rachel Jensen. The girl that, once upon a time, had been the closest thing to a friend I ever had. A school project had us work together for several weeks, and we seemed to get along just fine. Nevertheless, that little bonding between us didn’t last very long after the day we had to present our project to the class. She received the compliments from our classmates, the slaps on the back and all the praise. The fact that the other students ignored my part in the project didn’t really bother me. I was accustomed to it. However, the way Rachel just accepted all the praise and acted as if it was justified, was what hurt me the most.I lifted my jacket so Joanne knew to where I was disappearing. Joanne patted my shoulder when I moved past her behind the small register. She knew I wasn’t a big fan of Rachel. A tight passageway led to the back room, where Joanne had placed a small sofa opposite the fireplace. On the other side of the room was a kitchenette, a small table, and two chairs. After I placed my jacket on the back of a chair and set it near the fireplace to dry, I took my forest green apron off the hook on the wall and tied it around my waist. While I waited for Rachel to leave the shop, I put a pot of water on the fireplace to get Joanne another tea.